Three indicted in accidental fatal shooting of New Milford man

Nicholas Questel, Byron Sankar and Aaron McMorris appear in court last week to answer charges related to the accidental shooting death of Alex Bridge in New Milford on Aug. 3.

Three men were indicted Friday on charges stemming from an apparently accidental shooting that claimed the life of a young New Milford man last summer.

A Bergen County grand jury returned a 12-count indictment that leveled the most serious charge — aggravated manslaughter — against the alleged owner of the gun, Byron Sankar, 21, of East Orange.

The victim, Alex Bridge, 22, was shot once in the abdomen about 1 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2013, in the parking lot of the Milford Estates apartments. He was later pronounced dead at Holy Name Medical Center.

Bridge had been drinking beer and perhaps smoking marijuana behind the complex with Sankar, his wife, who was not charged, and Aaron McMorris, 23, of Hackensack, authorities said.

As the group was talking, Sankar produced a 9mm handgun, which discharged when he allegedly handled it in a “reckless manner,” authorities said.

Everyone fled, though McMorris eventually called 911 and returned to the scene to await police.

In addition to aggravated manslaughter, Sankar was charged with endangering an injured victim by fleeing the scene when he knew Bridge was unable to care for himself, unlawful possession of a weapon, aggravated assault, hindering prosecution by disposing of the gun, giving false information to a law enforcement officer and attempting to falsely implicate McMorris in the crime. He was also charged with unlawful possession of a handgun in East Orange in the months leading up to the fatal incident. He remains in the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $450,000 bond.

McMorris, who has prior arrests for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor and marijuana possession and distribution, is free on $75,000 bond. He was charged in two counts of the indictment with hindering apprehension and falsely implicating another person.

The third defendant, Nicholas Questel, 22, of Orange, a construction worker, who was not present during the shooting, was charged in the indictment with possession of the 9mm handgun without a permit between May and June of last year. Authorities allege he illegally sold the gun to Sankar for $350 earlier that summer. He was also charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon stemming from a conviction on federal charges for importing narcotics.

Sankar’s attorney, Nicholas Doria of Hackensack, on Friday called the shooting “a tragic accident” and said all those present at the time regarded the victim as a friend.

They were “just having fun,” he said, adding there was no intent to intimidate or harm anyone.

He said Sankar “feels terrible” about his friend’s death. Without going into specifics, he suggested that his client was not actually handling the gun when it went off. He declined to say who was.

An attorney for Questel, John Pironi, of Bergenfield, said Friday that the allegations against his client were not true and he would be cleared at trial. He confirmed that Questel was born in Trinidad and is in the United States legally, but declined further comment.